{"id":71431,"date":"2017-07-10T23:22:35","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T04:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71431"},"modified":"2018-09-03T13:44:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T18:44:03","slug":"my-best-worst-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71431","title":{"rendered":"My Best (Worst) Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Naomi House, MLIS
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

My Best (Worst) Interview<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\"IMG_6534\"<\/a>Five\u00a0years\u00a0ago\u00a0I had an interview for a dream job at one of the most prestigious libraries in the country.\u00a0 I did not get the job and they made the right choice.\u00a0 I had a great interview despite a wardrobe malfunction and major issues with my online application.\u00a0 In the end they hired the internal candidate who not only was better informed about the collection, but also had a much better r\u00e9sum\u00e9.\u00a0 I have had great interviews and ones that did not go well at all, but of all the interviews I have ever been on this was the one I learned from the most.\u00a0 When I look back at the entire process from applying to<\/em> prepping to<\/em> the interview and finally<\/em>, the choice they made I have some valuable take-aways that could help other job hunters.<\/p>\n

Applying for the Job: Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drafts Can Kill Your Chances: \u00a0<\/strong>Imagine this: you are applying for a job with a lengthy application and as you go along you are saving it.\u00a0 Then after you finish you spell check and grammar check the entire application a few times.\u00a0 You save it once more and upload it double checking you made all corrections.\u00a0 For many applying for corporate or government jobs the reality is in addition to a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and cover letter you will also have to fill out an application.\u00a0 This can be just a few questions or take many, many hours to fill out; it depends. So what did I do wrong, you ask?\u00a0 I thought I had saved my draft with the word “draft” in the title and accidentally uploaded the Draft as my final version.\u00a0 It was full of mistakes<\/strong> such as the incorrect use of there\/their\/they’re and you can imagine the misspellings.<\/p>\n

Now the fact that I even got an interview speaks to exactly how poorly using computers first can be for the application screening process and clearly no human being read my full application before calling me or I never would have made the cut.<\/p>\n

So how did I approach this in the interview? \u00a0I already knew the mistake and could not fix it at this point. \u00a0I had to address it and take responsibility for it.<\/p>\n